Constraints on hydrological and paleotemperature variations in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the last 140ka given by the δD values of speleothem fluid inclusions

McGarry, Siobhán F.; Bar‐Matthews, Miryam; Matthews, Alan; Вакс, Антон; Schilman, Bettina; Ayalon, Avner

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.06.020

Cited by 192 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Fluid inclusions are common in speleothems (0.05 to 0.5 weight %) and are natural repositories of cave drip water (Scheidegger et al, 2010). Therefore, the hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotopic composition of fluid inclusions contains direct information on the isotopic composition of paleoprecipitation (Dennis, 1997;Baker and Bradley, 2010) and, when combined with isotopic analyses of speleothem calcite, it can be used to calculate either paleotemperatures (McGarry et al, 2004;Tremaine et al, 2011) or to reveal changes in the source of moisture (Fleitmann et al, 2003). However, one must keep in mind that speleothem calcite δ 18 O values are often affected by kinetic fractionation (Mickler et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)

2014

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Abstract.A new online method to analyse water isotopes of speleothem fluid inclusions using a wavelength scanned cavity ring down spectroscopy (WS-CRDS) instrument is presented. This novel technique allows us simultaneously to measure hydrogen and oxygen isotopes for a released aliquot of water. To do so, we designed a new simple line that allows the online water extraction and isotope analysis of speleothem samples. The specificity of the method lies in the fact that fluid inclusions release is made on a standard water background, which mainly improves the δD robustness.To saturate the line, a peristaltic pump continuously injects standard water into the line that is permanently heated to 140 • C and flushed with dry nitrogen gas. This permits instantaneous and complete vaporisation of the standard water, resulting in an artificial water background with well-known δD and δ 18 O values. The speleothem sample is placed in a copper tube, attached to the line, and after system stabilisation it is crushed using a simple hydraulic device to liberate speleothem fluid inclusions water. The released water is carried by the nitrogen/standard water gas stream directly to a Picarro L1102-i for isotope determination. To test the accuracy and reproducibility of the line and to measure standard water during speleothem measurements, a syringe injection unit was added to the line.Peak evaluation is done similarly as in gas chromatography to obtain δD and δ 18 O isotopic compositions of measured water aliquots. Precision is better than 1.5 ‰ for δD and 0.4 ‰ for δ 18 O for water measurements for an extended range (−210 to 0 ‰ for δD and −27 to 0 ‰ for δ 18 O) primarily dependent on the amount of water released from speleothem fluid inclusions and secondarily on the isotopic composition of the sample. The results show that WS-CRDS technology is suitable for speleothem fluid inclusion measurements and gives results that are comparable to the isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) technique.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies showed a large fractionation of up to 30 ‰ for δD in comparison with parent cave drip waters (Yonge, 1982;Matthews et al, 2000;McGarry et al, 2004). No fractionation is observed when the speleothem sample is heated to a maximal temperature of 400 • C (Verheyden et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)

2014

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“…5). Climate records from the Levantine basin indicate transition to a cool wet climate during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age and the Late Roman/Byzantine periods (28)(29)(30)(31)(32). The expansion of agriculture and human modification of surrounding watersheds, coupled with periods of increased mountain precipitation, notably between 3500-3000 B.P.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene morphogenesis of Alexander the Great's isthmus at Tyre in Lebanon

Marriner

Morhange

Meulé

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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In 332 B.C., Alexander the Great constructed an Ϸ1,000-m-long causeway to seize the offshore island of Tyre. The logistics behind this engineering feat have long troubled archaeologists. Using the Holocene sedimentary record, we demonstrate that Alexander's engineers cleverly exploited a shallow proto-tombolo, or sublittoral sand spit, to breach the offshore city's defensive impregnability. We elucidate a three-phase geomorphological model for the spit's evolution. Settled since the Bronze Age, the area's geological record manifests a long history of natural and anthropogenic forcings. (i) Leeward of the island breakwater, the maximum flooding surface (e.g., drowning of the subaerial land surfaces by seawater) is dated Ϸ8000 B.P. Fine-grained sediments and brackish and marine-lagoonal faunas translate shallow, low-energy water bodies at this time. Shelter was afforded by Tyre's elongated sandstone reefs, which acted as a 6-km natural breakwater. (ii) By 6000 B.P., sea-level rise had reduced the dimensions of the island from 6 to 4 km. The leeward wave shadow generated by this island, allied with high sediment supply after 3000 B.P., culminated in a natural wave-dominated proto-tombolo within 1-2 m of mean sea level by the time of Alexander the Great (4th century B.C.). (iii) After 332 B.C., construction of Alexander's causeway entrained a complete anthropogenic metamorphosis of the Tyrian coastal system. geoarchaeology ͉ Mediterranean ͉ tombolo ͉ coastal geomorphology

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“…Among these 906 F. Spadin et al: Accuracy of stalagmite formation temperatures are "clumped isotopes" (Ghosh et al, 2006;Affek et al, 2008), δD and δ 18 O signals (McGarry et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2008) and noble gas concentrations of speleothem fluid inclusion water (Kluge et al, 2008;Scheidegger et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical Note: How accurate can stalagmite formation temperatures be determined using vapour bubble radius measurements in fluid inclusions?

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Stalagmites are natural archives containing detailed information on continental climate variability of the past. Microthermometric measurements of fluid inclusion homogenisation temperatures allow determination of stalagmite formation temperatures by measuring the radius of stable laser-induced vapour bubbles inside the inclusions. A reliable method for precisely measuring the radius of vapour bubbles is presented. The method is applied to stalagmite samples for which the formation temperature is known. An assessment of the bubble radius measurement accuracy and how this error influences the uncertainty in determining the formation temperature is provided. We demonstrate that the nominal homogenisation temperature of a single inclusion can be determined with an accuracy of ±0.25 • C, if the volume of the inclusion is larger than 10 5 µm 3 . With this method, we could measure in a proof-of-principle investigation that the formation temperature of 10-20 yr old inclusions in a stalagmite taken from the Milandre cave is 9.87 ± 0.80 • C, while the mean annual surface temperature, that in the case of the Milandre cave correlates well with the cave temperature, was 9.6 ± 0.15 • C, calculated from actual measurements at that time, showing a very good agreement. Formation temperatures of inclusions formed during the last 450 yr are found in a temperature range between 8.4 and 9.6 • C, which corresponds to the calculated average surface temperature. Paleotemperatures can thus be determined within ±1.0 • C. IntroductionIn recent years, stalagmites have gained growing interest in palaeoclimate research since they can provide long (up to several hundred thousand years), detailed and precisely dated records of past climate variability. In many cases cave air temperature is stable throughout the year and is closely related to the mean annual air temperature above the cave (McDermott, 2004;Fairchild et al., 2006). Assuming that the stalagmite formation temperature equals the cave air temperature, stalagmites can deliver well-dated and highly resolved palaeotemperature records.Until now, palaeoclimate information from stalagmites has mainly been obtained from stable isotope measurements of speleothem calcite (δ 18 O and δ 13 C), annual band thickness and trace element contents (Fairchild and Treble, 2009). These climate proxies can deliver qualitative records of climate variability, but a quantitative interpretation of the data still remains difficult. Uncertainties associated with the interpretation of the most widely used climate proxy, the δ 18 O signal, are caused by the lack of knowledge of the exact cave temperature. Furthermore, the δ 18 O signal can be influenced by other climatic factors such as precipitation and moisture source as well as by environmental factors in the epikarst and the cave. Thus, an independent temperature proxy would form the basis for a quantitative interpretation of the highresolution δ 18 O isotope records.Several quantitative temperature proxies have been used to determine stalagmite f...

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Constraints on hydrological and paleotemperature variations in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the last 140ka given by the δD values of speleothem fluid inclusions

Cited by 192 publications

References 32 publications

New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)

New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)

Holocene morphogenesis of Alexander the Great's isthmus at Tyre in Lebanon

Technical Note: How accurate can stalagmite formation temperatures be determined using vapour bubble radius measurements in fluid inclusions?

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